Fly Down Little Bird
Mike Seeger and Peggy Seeger
Tracks in order are:
1 Old Bangum
2 The Dodger Song
3 Cindy
4 Blood-Stained Banders
5 Big Bee Suck the Pumpkin Stem
6 Where Have You Been My Good Old Man
7 Little Willie's My Darlin'
8 The Farmer is the Man
9 Fod!
10 Jennie Jenkins
11 My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
12 Poor Little Turtle Dove
13 Little Birdie
Track 1 - OLD BANGUM (Child 18)
(from the singing of Adelaide Hemingway, Washington DC 1939; recorded by John and Alan Lomax)
Old Bangham did a-hunting ride,
Derrum, derrum, derrum
Old Bangham did a-hunting ride,
Kimmy qua,
Old Bangham did a-hunting ride
Sword and pistol by his side,
Derrum kimmy quo qua.
He rode unto the riverside (3)
And there a pretty maid he spied.
"Fair maid," said he, "will you marry me?" (3)
"O no," said she, "for we can't agree."
"There lives a bear in yonder wood, (3)
He'll grind your bones and suck your blood."
He rode unto the wild bear's den (3)
There lay the bones of a hundred men.
Old Bangum and the wild bear fought (3)
By set of sun the bear was naught.
He rode unto the riverside (3)
And there a pretty maid he spied.
"Fair maid," said he, "will you marry me?" (3)
"O yes," said she, "for we now agree."
Track 2 - THE DODGER SONG
(from Emma Dusenberry, Mena, Arkansas 1936; recorded by John and Alan Lomax)
Oh, the candidate's a dodger, yes a well-known dodger
Yes, the candidate's a dodger,yes and I'm a dodger too.
He'll meet you and treat you and ask you for your vote,
But look out, boys, he's a-dodging for a note.
CHORUS
OH. WE'RE ALL DODGING,
A-DODGING, DODGING, DODGING,
YES, WE'RE ALL DODGING OUT THE WAY THROUGH THE WORLD.
Yes the lawyer he's a dodger, etc.
He'll plead your case, claim you as a friend,
But look out, boys, he's easy for to bend. (chorus)
Oh, the doctor he's a dodger yes, etc
He'll doctor you and cure you for half you possess
But look out, boys, he's a-dodging for the rest. (chorus)
Well, the merchant he's a dodger. etc
He'll sell you the goods at double the price
But when you go to pay him you'll have to pay him twice. (chorus)
Yes, the farmer he's a dodger, etc.
He'll plow his cotton, hoe his corn
He'll make a living just as sure as you're born. (chorus)
Oh, the lover he's a dodger, etc.
He'll hug you and kiss you, call you his bride
But look out, girls, he's a-telling you a lie. (chorus)
Oh, the lover she's a dodger, etc.
She'll hug you and kiss you and call herself a bride
But look out, boys, she's a-tellin' you a lie. (chorus)
Track 3 - CINDY
You ought to see my Cindy
Lives away down south
She's so sweet the honeybees
Swarm around her mouth.
CHORUS
Git along home, Cindy, Cindy
Git along home (Cindy, Cindy)
Git along home, Cindy, Cindy
I'll marry you someday.
The first time I saw Cindy
She's standing in the door
Shoes and stockings in her hand
And her feet all over the floor.
Cindy got religion
She'd got it once before
But when she heard the old banjo
She was the first one on the floor.
Cindy is a pretty girl
Cindy is a peach
She throwed her arms around me
And hung on like a leech. (chorus)
She took me to her parlor
She cooled me with her fan
She said I was the prettiest thing
In the shape of a mortal man.
She hugged me and she kissed me
She called me 'sugar plum'
She throwed her arms around me
I thought my time had come.
The higher up the cherry tree
Sweeter grow the cherries
More you hug and kiss the boys
The sooner you'll be married.
Now, when you go a-fishin'
Fish with a hook and line
But when you go to marry
You never look behind.
Track 4 - BLOOD-STAINED BANDERS
(sung by Jimmie Strothers, Virginia State Prison Farms, 1936; recorded by Harold Spivacke)
If you want to go to heaven
Just over on the other shore
Keep out the way of the blood-stained banders
Oh good shepherd, feed my sheep.
Chorus:
Some for Paul, some for Silas
Some for the make-a my heart rejoice
Can't you hear lambs a-cryin'?
Oh good shepherd, feed my sheep.
If you want to go to heaven
Just over on the other shore
Keep out the way of the gun-shot devils
Oh good shepherd, feed my sheep. (chorus)
If you want to go to heaven
Just over on the other shore
Keep out the way of the long-tongued liars
Oh good shepherd, feed my sheep. (chorus)
TRACK 5 - BIG BEE SUCK THE PUMPKIN STEM
(sung and played by Jack Mizell, Okefenokee Swamp region, Georgia, 1944; recorded by Francis Harper)
Big bee suck the pumpkin stem
Little bee make the honey
Black man hoes the cotton patch
And the white man took the money.
Lost my horse the other day
Where do you reckon I found him?
Way down yonder by the river wharf
And the buzzards all around him (2).
TRACK 6 - WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, MY GOOD OLD MAN?
(from the singing of Hazel Hudson, Hazard, Kentucky, 1937; recorded by John and Alan Lomax)
So where have you been, my good old man
Oh, where have you been, my honey-lovey dove?
Where have you been, my good old man,
You're the best old man in the world.
Been to the store.
So what did you git me, my good old man,
What did you git me, my honey-lovey dove?
What did you git me, my good old man,
You're the best old man in the world.
Got you a dress.
How much did it cost you, my good old man (etc)
Cost five dollars.
Ain't you 'fraid it'll break you up, my good old man (etc)
I don't care if it does.
What you want for your supper, my good old man (etc)
Five bushels of eggs.
Ain't you 'fraid it'll kill you, my good old man (etc)
I don't care if it does.
Where you wanna be buried, my good old man (etc)
In the chimney corner.
Ain't you 'fraid of snuffin' ashes, my good old man (etc.)
Don't care if I do, honey.
So long as I'm near you.
TRACK 7 - LITTLE WILLIE'S MY DARLIN'
(from the singing of George W. Smith, Raleigh, NC, 1934; recorded by John and Alan Lomax)
CHORUS:
Little Willie's my darling, little Willie's my dear
If you think I don't love her, you got a foolish idea.
She said that she loved me just to give my heart ease
Just as soon as my back was turned she loved who she pleased.
I rapped on her window, I knocked on her door
She give me short answer, "Don't knock there no more." (chorus)
The judge said, "Stand up, George, and dry up your tears;
You're sentenced to Raleigh for twenty-two years."
She wrote me one letter, she sent it by mail
She sent it in care of the Washington jail.
Sitting in the prison with my back to the wall
Old corn whisky was the cause of it all. (chorus)
Gonna build me one steeple on a mountain so high
So I can see Willie passin' on by.
If I'd only listened to what mother said
I'd have been there today in her feather bed. (chorus)
TRACK 8 - THE FARMER IS THE MAN
(from Resettlement Song Sheets, edited by Charles Seeger, Washington 1936)
When the farmer comes to town
With his wagon broken down
Oh, the farmer is the man who feeds them all.
If you'll only look and see
I know you will agree
That the farmer is the man who feeds them all.
CHORUS:
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man
Lives on credit until fall
Then they take him by the hand
And they lead him from the land
And the merchant is the man who gets it all.
When the lawyer hangs around
While the butcher cuts a pound
Oh, the farmer is the man who feeds them all.
And the preacher and the cook
Go a-strolling by the brook,
Oh, the farmer is the man who feeds them all.
CHORUS:
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man,
Lives on credit until fall
With the interest rate so high
It's a wonder he don't die
And the banker is the man who gets it all.
When the banker says he's broke
And the merchant's up in smoke
They forget that it's the farmer feeds them all.
It would put them to the test
If the farmer took a rest,
Then they'd know that it's the farmer feeds them all.
CHORUS:
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man,
Lives on credit until fall
His pants are wearing thin
His condition is a sin
He's forgot that he's the man who feeds them all.
If you'll only look and see
I know you will agree
That the farmer is the man who feeds them all.
TRACK 9 - FOD!
(sung and played by Henry King and family, Visalia, Kenton County, Kentucky, 1941; recorded by Charles L. Todd)
As I went down to the mowin' field
Hoo rye too rye fod-a-link-a-die-do
As I went down to the mowin' field
Fod!
As I went down to the mowin' field
A big black snake got me by the heel
Too-rolly-day.
I fell down upon the ground
Hoo rye too rye fod-a-link-a-die-do
I fell down upon the ground
Fod!
Well I fell down upon the ground
I shut both eyes and looked all around
Too-rolly-day.
Set upon a stump to take my rest
Hoo rye too rye fod-a-link-a-die-do
I set upon a stump to take my rest
Fod!
Set upon a stump to take my rest
It looked like a woodchuck on his nest
Too-rolly-day.
The woodchuck grinned a banjo song
Hoo-rye too rye fod-a-link-a-die-do
The woodchuck grinned a banjo song
Fod!
The woodchuck grinned a banjo song
Up come skunk with the britches on
Too-rolly-day.
The woodchuck and skunk got into a fight
Hoo rye too rye fod-a-link-a-die-do
The woodchuck and skunk got into a fight
Fod!
Woodchuck and skunk got in a fight
The fume was so strong it put out the light
Too-rolly-day.
They danced and they played till the chimbley 'gin to rust
Hoo rye too rye fod-a-link-a-die-do
They danced and they played till the chimbley 'gin to rust
Fod!
They danced and they played till the chimbley 'gin to rust
Hard to tell which smelled the worst
Too-rolly-day.
TRACK 10 - JENNIE JENKINS
(from the singing of Estil and Oma Ball, Rugby, Virginia, 1937; recorded by John and Alan Lomax)
Will you wear red, Oh my dear, Oh my dear,
Will you wear red, Jennie Jenkins?
I won’t wear red, it’s the colour of my head
CHORUS
I’ll buy me a foldy roldy tildy toldy
Seek-a-double use-a-cause-a-roll to bind me
Roll, Jennie Jenkins, roll.
Oh, will you wear blue, my dear, oh my dear,
Will you wear blue, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear blue for the color's too true. (chorus)
Oh, will you wear purple, Oh my dear, Oh my dear,
Will you wear purple, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear purple, it's the color of a turkle (chorus)
Oh, will you wear white, my dear Oh my dear
Will you wear white, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear white for the color's too bright (chorus)
Will you wear green, my dear, Oh my dear
Will you wear green, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear green, be ashamed to be seen (chorus)
Then what will you wear, Oh my dear Oh my dear
What will you wear, Jennie Jenkins?
I'll just go bare with a ribbon in my hair (chorus)
TRACK 11 - MY HOME'S ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS
(originally learned as "My Home's Across the Smoky Mountains", from the singing of Bascom Lamar Lunsford)
My home's across the Blue Ridge Mountains
My home's across the Blue Ridge Mountains
My home's across the Blue Ridge Mountains
And I never expect to see you any more.
Leaving on a Monday morning (3)
And I never expect to see you any more.
Goodbye, little sugar darlin' (3)
And I never expect to see you any more.
Rock my baby, feed it candy (3)
And I never expect to see you any more.
How can I keep from cryin'? (3)
And I never expect to see you any more.
My home's across the Blue Ridge Mountains
My home's across the Blue Ridge Mountains
My home's across the Blue Ridge Mountains
And I never expect to see you any more.
TRACK 12 - POOR LITTLE TURTLE DOVE
(from the singing of Bascom Lamar Lunsford, ca. 1929)
Poor little turtle dove
Sitting in a pine
Mourning for its own true love
Why not me for mine,
Why not me for mine.
I don't want to marry in the fall
I want to marry in the spring
I want to marry a pretty little girl
Wears a golden ring,
Wears a golden ring.
I went up on the mountainside
To give my horn a blow
There I heard my true love say
Yonder comes my beau,
Yonder comes my beau.
I've got hogs in a pen
Corn to feed them on
All I need is a pretty little girl
To feed them when I'm gone,
To feed them when I'm gone.
Track 13 - LITTLE BIRDIE
Little birdie, little birdie,
Come sing to me your song
Got a short time to stay here
And a long time to be gone.
Little birdie, little birdie,
What makes your wings so blue?
It’s nothing else but grieving,
A-grieving over you.
Little birdie, little birdie,
What makes you fly so high?
It's because I have a true little heart
And my true love's a-waiting in the sky.
I’d rather be in some dark holler
Where the sun don’t never shine,
Than to see you another man's darling
And to know, Lord, you’d never be mine.
Fly down, fly down, little birdie,
And sing to me your song.
Sing it now while I’m with you,
I can’t hear you when I’m gone.